Denial aka Convincing the Medic
by outofmymindbackin5
Summary: Sequel to Ending Envy. Ratchet has convinced himself that it was a mistake, that it was nothing more than a meaningless one night stand. Chromia & Ironhide are determined to prove it's not, but it seems that a little help might be required.
1. Denial, Not just a river in Egypt

**Summary:** Sequel to Ending Envy. Ratchet has convinced himself that it was a mistake, that it was nothing more than a meaningless one night stand. Chromia & Ironhide are determined to prove it's not, but it seems that a little help might be required.

**Warning:** It's M for a reason. Will contain smut and mech/mech, mech/femme as well as a threesome. You have been warned. Non-sticky, plug and play.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned it... well.. I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it.

**AN:** There wasn't supposed to be a sequel, but the bunnies bit me... hard. You don't need to read Ending Envy to be able to follow this fic, it should be able to stand on it's own.

The chapters will be rather short, but I should have one out every couple of days until it's done.

Special thanks to crescent-moon-demon for betaing this.

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><p><strong>Denial, Not just a river in Egypt.<strong>

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><p>Ratchet came out of recharge slowly with the feeling that something just wasn't quite right. He kept his optics shuttered and froze as he felt arms slowly pulling away from behind him, even as someone snuggled closer into his chest.<em> 'Just what the slag happened yesterday?'<em>

"Hmm... 'Hide..? Something the matter?" It was all he could do to keep from cringing as he recognized the still tired sounding voice of Chromia. Ironhide was going to kill him, he was sure of that. He was so focused on the fact he had Chromia cuddling against his chest, he completely missed Ironhide's quiet apology.

"Go back into recharge love." He pressed a light kiss on her helm and then did the same with Ratchet. "I just have the early morning patrol, I'll be back in a few..." Chromia let out a muttered, "Mmm.. Kay...," and promptly slipped back into recharge as Ironhide left for his shift.

The memory of the previous night came back to Ratchet in a rush, and he suppressed a sigh. There was no way it was anything more than a one time deal, no matter how much he may wish it otherwise. A little while later, when he finally dared to unshutter his optics, he glanced around the room before carefully untangling himself from Chromia and quickly vacating the room. He really didn't need to hear them say it was a mistake, and that it never should have happened.

Ironhide returned after his shift with three energon cubes, and was surprised to find Chromia sitting alone on the edge of their berth and frowning. He shook his head and sat down next to her, handing her a cube and then putting the third on the berth before taking a sip from his own.

"He snuck out huh?" Chromia nodded at his question then leaned up against him, and just stared at her cube, pouting slightly. "I know you said he'd try and convince himself it was just..." Her voice trailed off and she let out a small sound of frustration. "He's a stubborn, thick helmed, aft."

Ironhide chuckled and pulled her into a one armed hug. "Just means we can't give up. We'll get through to him somehow."


	2. Frustrated Femme, Plotting Saboteur

**Warning:** See first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

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><p><strong>Frustrated Femme, Plotting Saboteur<strong>

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><p>From his spot at the table near Chromia, Jazz waved at Ratchet as he entered the rec-room. However Ratchet, just grabbed a cube of energon and left as quickly as he came, leaving Jazz slightly perplexed.<p>

It seemed that everyone on the base knew Ratchet was avoiding Ironhide and Chromia, but no one seemed to know why. The speculations ranged from plausible, to outrageous, to the totally impossible, and Jazz was quite sure there were even a couple of betting pools going on.

Chromia shook her head and frowned at the medic's rapid exit. "This is becoming utterly ridiculous." Jazz nodded his head in agreement before asking, "I know it's none 'o my business... but why is Ratchet runnin from the two of ya like a scared petro-rabbit?"

"Let me answer that with another question. How long did it take you to get Prowl to realize that you were serious about him?" Jazz paused a moment, considering his answer. "A couple 'o v...," his processor caught up with his vocalizer, "Wait... ya mean.. He thinks ya being with 'Hide isn't serious?"

"Not exactly..." She tapped a finger on the tabletop a moment, waiting for Jazz to take a sip of his cube "... more like in denial that we want him as much as we do each other." Jazz nearly choked on his energon at that little revelation, his optics going wide with surprise. _'Huh,'_ he thought, _'of all the theories, who knew it would be the Twins to get it right.'_

"He's been overworking himself and avoiding us for weeks... The humans are starting to notice too... Spike found Ratchet recharging in vehicle mode, in the back lot of their garage more than once." Chromia buried her face in her hands, air hissing through her vents in a manner reminiscent of a sigh.

"Ironhide and I are both running out of ideas. Pit, we can't even get him to stay in the same room as us long enough to try and talk to him.." Jazz pulled her into a hug. "C'mon. Cheer up. He can't keep avoiding ya forever." Chromia gave him a small smile. "Maybe not.. but it's starting to feel like it."

She gave her head a small shake as she stood. "Sorry. I suppose I'm not handling this as well as I thought." He gave her a reassuring smile and patted her hand. "Don' worry 'bout it. Go drag 'Hide to the target range. Sounds like ya both need to spend some time workin' out some o' that frustration."

Chuckling Chromia nodded "That's not a half bad idea actually. Thanks Jazz."

After saying their goodbyes, Jazz leaned back and contemplated his choices. He knew neither of them would ask for help, but he felt that he owed Chromia at least a little. After all, she did give him and Prowl the kick in the aft that they needed to admit that they liked each other.

Jazz stared at the energon as he swirled it in his cube, while trying to figure out how to help. Moments later, he grinned and chuckled in a manner that had half the occupants in the rec room wondering if they should be worried. The last time anyone had heard that laugh, three quarters of the base ended up lime green with pink polkadots.

Meanwhile in the med-bay, Ratchet shuddered and wondered who was plotting, and how badly it was going to blowup in his face.


	3. Don't piss off the saboteur

**Warning:** See first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**To ancara-iii :** Thank you for the review. I hope I can live up to your expectations...

**AN:** Really short this time. The next chapter should be up in about an hour or so. Internet connection permitting.

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><p><strong>Don't piss off the saboteur...<strong>

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><p>Another week later and even Jazz was becoming frustrated. Nothing seemed to be working, no matter how many times he tried to get Ratchet in the same room as 'Hide or Chromia, he always seemed to manage and avoid it.<p>

Ironhide and Chromia were both upset, and Ratchet was turning into a cranky, overworked, antisocial grump. It had gotten so bad that Ratchet had even snapped at Optimus when he had suggested that perhaps he should take a break.

Jazz let out a subvocal growl as he stalked towards the med-bay, determined that this was going to stop tonight. He commed Prowl on the way to rearrange the next week of shifts while thinking,_ 'Let's see him manage to avoid 'em this time.'_


	4. Abducted

**Warning:** See first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

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><p><strong>Abducted<strong>

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><p>Ratchet sat alone in the office of the med-bay, reading a book file and trying to avoid going back to his quarters to recharge. If he were honest with himself, he would admit the long hours and overwork were just an excuse to avoid others. Chromia and Ironhide in particular.<p>

He didn't want to be reminded of what he couldn't have, to hear that the one amazing night was nothing more than a mistake. That it never should have happened in the first place and was never going to happen again. It made his spark ache, and he wished he were able to shut out his feelings.

Hearing the doors open, he let out a huff and got up to see who had gotten hurt this time, only to find the room seemingly empty. He went to check outside the med-bay doors while grumbling something quietly in Cybertronian about stupid pranks and idiots.

He looked out the doors and saw nothing, when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged backwards into the med-bay as his assailant's fingers deftly disabled his vocals and motor controls. Unable to fight, Ratchet felt something being pressed between the cables in his neck and found himself being forced into stasis. He tried desperately to send an alert out before the blackness overtook him, but his attempt was blocked and his last conscious thought was, _'Oh Slag.' _


	5. The Medic is Missing?

**Warning:** See first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**AN:** The :: with text here :: Is internal com chatter.

Thanks to ancara-iii and FF Demon for the reviews. Longer chapters are in the works, but they'll probably still be on the short side...

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><p><strong>The Medic is Missing?<strong>

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><p>"Any luck?" Ironhide sighed and shook his head as Chromia found him outside the security centre's monitor room. "Not even a glimpse. Ratchet can apparently hide very well when he wants to."<p>

"Where the Pit is he... Is it possible that we made a mistake... that he..." Her voice became choked and Ironhide put a quick halt to that thought. "No. It took me over four vorns just to convince him I was his friend... He's just a stubborn aft that thinks he doesn't deserve anything good."

:: Blaster to Chromia and Ironhide. You should probably go check on your quarters, the doors just opened and closed on their own. ::

Ironhide looked a little irritated :: Pit. We'll be right there. :: while Chromia was just plain pissed as they headed towards the other end of the Ark.

"I know we haven't been pranked since we got our new quarters... but now?" Ironhide could tell by the tone of her voice that someone was going to pay dearly, you don't piss off a stressed out femme, that's just suicidal.

"Maybe It might not be as bad as we think..." She stopped and gave him 'The Look' and he held his hands up in surrender for a moment. "... right..."

Arriving at their quarters they found a large box sitting in front of their door, and a data pad sitting on top of the box. Ironhide very cautiously picked up the pad, like it would jump up and bite him at any second. He read the very short message as Chromia did the same over his shoulder, looking very confused. "Your going to need this... Have fun?..." She stared at the box for a moment. "I'm almost afraid to look..."

Very carefully, they opened the box and when nothing popped out at them, looked inside warily. The box's contents were somewhat surprising. 'Six cubes of a very good Hi-grade energon, polishing cloths, a large and very expensive container of wax, and...' Chromia stopped her mental inventory as she held up a set of stasis cuffs and a small keyring. "Well... this is..." She dropped them back into the box with a small grin "... something we should finish going through in private."

Ironhide chuckled as Chromia picked up the rather good sized box while he entered the code to their room. "Guess we won't need to dismantle anyon..." His voice trailed off in shock at the sight in front of them. Chromia stared for several seconds, then grinned wickedly, and shoved Ironhide into the room before she locked the doors behind them.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> For those who really want to know, the idea of stasis cuffs is snitched from the 'Transformers Animated' cartoon. They leave the captive fully conscious and capable of speech, but unable to move in any other way.


	6. Helpless Captive

**Warning:** See first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**AN:** And it's a double update again.

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><p><strong>Helpless Captive<strong>

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><p>Ratchet came out of stasis, laying flat on his back and let out a small groan. He wondered what happened as he onlined his optics, only to be greeted by darkness, and frowned as he ran a minor diagnostic. He went over the last things that he remembered. <em>'...in the med-bay office, went to check outside... tried and failed to send an emergency alert... Oh Primus...'<em>

Panicking slightly, he started to run a full diagnostic as the first one came back clear and he realized that his optics had been covered with something. _'Weapons: Offline, Communications: Blocked, Medical tools: Offline, Motor controls: Online'_

It was a mild relief to find that he was able to move, but that feeling wouldn't last. When he went to move his arms, he quickly discovered that they along with his legs, had been tied quite securely to whatever he was laying on. His arms had been stretched above his head and tied together by the wrists and to the top of what he assumed to be a table or berth of some sort.

Pulling at his restraints yielded no results, other than to confirm that whoever had tied them did it well. His legs were splayed and tied to each of the bottom corners, leaving him very little range of movement. Really, the most he could do was shift uncomfortably and turn his head, while waiting for his captor to return.

He debated calling for help vocally, but decided against it. This was far beyond the Twins ability to pull as a prank, and if he had been taken by the Decepticons like he feared, it would only make things worse.

The sound of a door opening jerked Ratchet back to the present, and he fought with the restraints again while wondering what was going to happen to him.


	7. Confessions and Torture?

**Warning:** See first chapter.

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

**AN:** Well, I'm a little late putting this up... but it's a longer chapter. Thanks to Corona 1 and ancara-iii for the reviews.

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><p><strong>Confessions and Torture?<strong>

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><p>Chromia put the box on the floor, and it landed with a dull thump as she opened a private com channel to Ironhide. :: Well... that's one way to keep him from running away from us... :: He just nodded, completely transfixed on the sight before them.<p>

There, in the middle of the dimly lit room, was Ratchet splayed across their berth, both blindfolded and tied down securely. Unable to resist the temptation, Chromia approached quietly and then slowly ran a hand down one of his legs.

Ratchet heard a small thump, and tried not to flinch at the sound of approaching steps. The feeling of someone touching his leg, made him strain at his bonds in an attempt to pull away and he let out a small sound of panic.

It was growing harder and harder for him to appear calm as the touch ended and the silence descended once more. Ratchet considered himself lucky that the few times the 'Cons had gotten ahold of him, he had either escaped or been rescued rather quickly and had managed to avoid being tortured... Though at this moment, it seemed to him that his luck was about to run out.

It took a moment for Ironhide's processor to reboot but he finally managed a response :: I can bet Jazz had something to do with this... ::

Before he had a chance to continue he was interrupted by another com :: Jazz to Chromia and Ironhide. The three of ya 'ave the next week off. Don' do anything I wouldn't. ::

:: Well, speak of the devil. :: Chromia commented, somewhat amused while Ironhide snorted :: Like that's a big list. :: and Jazz responded with a small laugh as he closed the connection.

Ironhide joined Chromia by the berth and stood on the opposite side, taking a moment to trace a seam along Ratchet's side with a finger. Ratchet tried to pull away and Ironhide frowned a bit. :: I don't think he has any idea where he is... I think Jazz just left him here... ::

A deep feeling of dread began to make itself known to Ratchet as he jerked away from the touch to his side, hoping desperately that he wasn't going to be passed around as a toy.

:: ...Then we should probably let him know just who's prisoner he is. :: Ironhide just barely managed to keep from laughing at her reply. :: You're still miffed at him for running off the other morning, huh? :: She nodded with a bit of an evil grin and Ironhide relented. :: Go ahead... but everything stops if he starts to panic. ::

Climbing up onto the berth and kneeling next to Ratchet, Chromia leaned over him and began to gently caress cables and run her fingers along the side of his face. The light touches seemed to hit just the right spots and he shuddered at the sensations even as he tried to turn away.

With no way to either escape or fight, Ratchet turned his head as far away from the direction of the touches as he was able. Finally in a somewhat resigned and worried voice, he asked the one question he honestly didn't know if he wanted to have answered. "What... what do you want..."

Cupping his chin with her hand, she slowly and gently forced him to face her as she leaned down and whispered, "There's only one thing we want.."

Ratchet froze as he heard her speak, he knew that voice... _'Chromia?... no.. it can't... I.. it has to be a trick..'_ A strange mixture of fear and anticipation flooded his systems as she tipped his chin up slightly, and murmured, "You," against his lips before kissing him softly.

Unable to stop himself, Ratchet found himself returning the kiss as his fans kicked in. He could feel the fuel in his tanks churn as she pulled away from the kiss while tracing the top edge of the windshield on his chest, because he knew, he just knew that it couldn't be real. Torture, it was torture... pure, sweet and wonderful torture...

Finally deciding to join in, Ironhide sat on the opposite side of the berth and began to trace the contours of Ratchet's headlights with a single finger and he let out a whimper of confusion. Ratchet wanted to both accept the touch and reject it at the same time.

He was a prisoner, he shouldn't be enjoying this... but... suddenly another set of lips captured his and he let out a low moan before he could stop it. He tried to keep reminding himself, _'It's not real... It's only a trick...' _no matter how much he wished it were otherwise.

Slowly breaking the kiss, Ironhide stroked Ratchet's cheek and asked "Why do you keep running from us?" He took a moment to draw Ratchet into another, longer, deeper kiss, that made him shudder and let out a small whine as Ironhide once again pulled away.

_'Oh Primus... That feels..'_ Much to his internal shame, he found himself whining in disappointment as the kiss ended. He felt so conflicted, he wanted nothing more than to give in, to believe it was real.

Chromia laid down next to him, putting her head on Ratchet's shoulder and snuggled into his side and frowned as he became very still. "Did you really think that we didn't want you? That it was nothing more than a meaningless fling..."

The hurt in her voice was obvious and he could feel his resolve wavering and slipping away at a rapid pace. Even though his optics were still covered, he shuttered them and attempted to regain control over his traitorous emotions.

Ironhide slid his thumb over a seam near Ratchet's headlight and began to increase the pressure as he traced the edge. "We both love you... We both want you." Arching to meet his touch, the last of Ratchet's resolve collapsed as Ironhide spoke, and Primus help him, he believed every word.


End file.
